Trans organizations in Ecuador on Monday denounced the lynching of a transgender woman in the province of Cotopaxi, in the Andean center of the country, Saturday.
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In a statement, they said that more than five men assaulted two transgender women with stones, and added that, later, one of them was "killed with stones, kicks, and punches."
The whole incident was recorded in a video by a resident present in the area. The video which was uploaded by the coalition shows “the torture, viciousness, stoning, aggression and incisive violence against the partner, who was later killed with kicking, punching and stones by these five individuals.”
The letter published by the National Trans Revolution Coalition, consisting of organizations like Silueta X, Crisalys, Orgullo LGBTI, etc., wrote in the letter, “we publicly denounce that on Saturday, October 20, 2018, a trans woman was murdered by more than five individuals in the province of Cotopaxi.”
“In the video that you can see in our network, you see how more than five people practically lynch a trans woman, while another trans woman tries to defend herself,” continued the statement.
"We request the national government of the president Lenin Moreno, to undertake necessary investigations to find the guilty of this execrable act. We also request that both national and local authorities offer guarantees and protection to life and free transit of trans women.”
They mentioned that the hate crimes against trans people are increasing due to hate speech from ultra-conservative groups, the church and even political actors and politicians of the country.
“We regret what happened with our murdered partner in the streets of Cotopaxi. We hope that the authorities, but especially the national government, will rule, rejecting this type of acts against trans women in our country,” concluded the statement.
Ecuador's Constitution guarantees fundamental rights including the right to formal and material equality (article 66), the liberty to decide one's sexuality and sexual orientation, recognizes “gender identity” (article 11) and condemns discrimination on gender identity grounds (article 83). Ecuadoreans can also change their sex on identity documents once they have completed the medical surgery.